Wade Makes His Point At The Point

With 7:55 to play in Wednesday's 99-98 victory in Orlando, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra seemed to acknowledge what had become apparent as the Heat fell into an 11-point hole.

There was no point in sticking with his point guards.

So Carlos Arroyo was pulled in favor of forward James Jones.

For the balance of the game, shooting guard Dwyane Wade ran the offense, even as he bristles at the notion of being classified as a point guard.

"We're down by 11, we had to shake it up," Spoelstra said, before he gave his team Thanksgiving off in advance of Friday night's home game against the Wizards. "We were really struggling to put the points on the board against them. So went with him and went with Daequan [Cook] and J.J. to spread the floor a little bit."

The Heat would score 24 points the rest of the way; Wade would be involved in 22 of them.

"You saw some of the passes he was making, as well," Spoelstra said. "There's a reason why those guys were wide open. They were putting multiple defenders in front of him."

Wade not only scored 14 points in the final 7:55 after being shifted to the primary ball-handler, but he also assisted on a Udonis Haslem dunk and drew enough attention on missed jumpers to allow Haslem and Michael Beasley to score on follow-up plays at the rim.

"Again, that shows Dwyane's kind of poise and recognition, to still impact the game two ways, to get to the free throw line, but also to make plays for other guys," Spoelstra said, with Wade 9 of 9 from the foul line after moving to de facto point guard.

As it was, starting point guard Mario Chalmers checked out for good with 2:25 to play in the third quarter in a four-point performance. Arroyo scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting, combining with Chalmers for three assists. Wade finished with seven.

While he has bristled at having to serve as primary ball-handler for an entire game, Wade remains more than comfortable with sliding to point guard in such late-game situations. He had stood 3 of 14 from the field for eight points through three quarters.

"I always have confidence I can get it going," he said.

Was it or wasn't it?

While Beasley's put-back dunk off an errant Wade jumper with 1.6 seconds to play closed out Wednesday's scoring, the debate continued over whether the shot was an offensive goaltend.

The fact that Wade's 15-footer was so off caught the Magic flat-footed.

"You're looking up at the ball, trying to figure out if it's going to hit the rim or not," Orlando guard Vince Carter said, "but you never think the shot is going to be short and be an airball. Not with D-Wade."

Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@SunSentinel.com

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Friday: Wizards at Heat

When/Where: 7 p.m., AmericanAirlines Arena

Tickets: Available at www.Heat.com or 1-800-4NBA-TIX

TV: ESPN Radio: WINZ (940-AM), WQBA (1140-AM, Spanish)

Scouting report: The Heat has won two in a row after losing its previous three .... This is the third of the teams' four meetings, with the Heat already having recorded a victory in Washington as well as one in Miami two weeks ago..... This will be the first appearance in the season series for Wizards forward Antawn Jamison, who had been out with a shoulder injury .... The Heat has won the past six meetings, including a 4-0 sweep last season .... Two Heat players are coming off team milestones. Jermaine O'Neal's 16 rebounds in Wednesday's 99-98 victory in Orlando were his most with the team, and James Jones' 16 points against the Magic were his most in his two seasons with the Heat .... With Wednesday's victory, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is now 4-1 in his two seasons in one-point games .... Washington enters on a six-game road losing streak... Heat forward Quentin Richardson (back) is doubtful .... Former Heat forward Caron Butler (ankle) is questionable for the Wizards, and teammates Mike Miller (calf), Mike James (hand) and Javaris Crittenton (foot) are out.